Pendulum: Lost Years
by wolfteam000
Summary: Why had she trained so hard to surpass Yoruichi? Her head told her that it was because it was her duty to capture the traitor but her heart told her that it was to show that she had been worthy enough to follow her mentor when she went into exile. The lost 101 years of the Turn Back the Pendulum arc about Soifon's rise to the top


**Forge**

Shaolin wandered around the house aimlessly as she waited impatiently for her older brother to return. XiaoWen had joined the Executive Militia six year ago at the age of 10 in accordance with the Feng Clan's tradition and today, he had finally been given leave from the 2nd Division barracks to visit his family. She sighed as she paced the deserted hallways. She couldn't wait to see him again, to ask him about what he had learnt as a Shinigami, to ask him of his training regime, to ask him what it was like to serve under the Shihoin commander.

"Shaolin."

The girl looked up at the stern voice and she turned towards her father, head inclined respectfully. "Yes Father?"

The head of the Feng Clan gestured at her to sit beside him and she complied dutifully. "Patience, my child. He will come."

She nodded and settled down slightly, trying hard to blank out her mind. Patience was something that she still had not mastered yet and she made a mental note to work harder on that aspect.

Being born the youngest of 6 siblings had been a blessing for Shaolin in some ways. With 5 older brothers to carry on the Feng name, her father had not felt the need to look down upon her as a female. Quite the contrary, Feng Jing seemed to favour his only daughter more. Her mother would comment on how much harsher he seemed to Shaolin but the girl knew the reasons behind all of it. Her father pushed her to train harder in order to overcome her physical disadvantage to males. He pushed her to train longer so that she could overcome the prejudice that females were subject to in the Executive Militia. He pushed her to train more so that she could live up to her own expectations and cope with the pressure of living up to her 5 brothers. Her father would never express his feelings openly, preferring criticism over meaningless praises yet Shaolin understand what it all meant and she was grateful for his guidance.

However, with the death of four of her brothers, the weight of expectations and pressures fell on her and XiaoWen and the both of them had worked harder than ever. As assassins and executioners, strength was everything. Strength and stealth was crucial for the Fengs to excel in the Omnitsukido and more often than not, Shaolin worried that she would not be able to live up to it all.

An audible click snapped her out of her thoughts and Shaolin whirled around quickly. Slowly, a strong figure pushed open the door, an easy smile gracing his lips as he entered the small house.

"XiaoWen," she uttered his name in delight and launched herself into his strong embrace. He had grown taller and more muscular, she mused to herself as she inhaled his musky scent.

XiaoWen laughed and ruffled the 10 year old's hair affectionately. Turning to his father, he bowed respectfully. "Father."

His father nodded in acknowledgement, a hint of pride shining in his eyes. His son smiled back at him before disentangling himself from his sister's embrace. "Sorry about not staying any longer but I have something to show Shaolin. We'll be back really soon."

Shaolin stared up at him with wide eyes before looking between her father and brother. The head of the clan nodded, signaling his permission and XiaoWen knelt down, staring straight into the girl's silver gray eyes. "I know you have a lot of questions but we can talk more later, yes?"

She nodded mutely before squealing in delight as he whisked her off her feet and leaping out of the house. Bounding over rooftops and leaping over houses, she shouted over the noise of the wind whipping around her face. "What is it like there? How does it feel to finally be able to serve the commander? What is she like?"

He flashed her a handsome smile. "Let me show you!"

* * *

They arrived at a red bridge on the outskirts of Sereitei. The warm orange glow painted the skies a brilliant shade of colour, contrasting sharply with the tall, dark trees, and Shaolin squinted, trying to see the distant figures on the bridge more clearly. She turned to her brother quizzically. To her surprise, he was kneeling on the ground, a look of admiration on his face.

She hastened to do the same but he steadied her. "It's alright, you're not a member of the Onmitsukido yet."

As the figures moved to the middle of the bridge, Shaolin gasped slightly as she took in the sight, lips mouthing soundless words unconsciously.

It was a procession and a noble was moving towards the Shihoin estate, flanked by guards and attendants, the eerie glow of the yellow light throwing ghostly shadows across them. The lady was dressed in an elegant kimono, her hair done up in an elaborate hairdo. She moved slowly but confidently, her movements brimming with gracefulness. Shaolin took a step forwards, eyes never wavering. She couldn't describe the emotions running through her head all at once. Confusion, admiration, yearning. It left her a bit disoriented and light headed.

"Do you see her, Shaolin?"

She licked her lips and swallowed, feeling her heart beat speed up slightly as the blood pounded in her head. "Yes," she managed to choke out in response.

XiaoWen's low baritone voice echoed in her head. "She is the princess of the Shihoin clan, Shihoin Yoruichi. She will be the new Commander of the Onmitsukido. Today is the day she completes the Shihoin clan's rite of passage when she formally accepts her position as head of the clan, 2nd division captain and Onmitsukido commander." Shaolin could hear the amusement in his voice as he commented offhandedly with a chuckle. "Was the reason I managed to get the day off today."

"Shihoin Yoruichi," she whispered to herself, feeling the name roll off her tongue smoothly. Her throat constricted painfully. Yoruichi was so noble, so beautiful and so terrifyingly strong, almost like a goddess. She was everything she ever wanted to be.

What was this feeling? Was this admiration? No, that feeling was beyond admiration. It was more akin to worship.

The girl started as a hand gripped her shoulder tightly.

"You're going to be joining the militia in a month's time," XiaoWen stared at her seriously. "I need you to remember what I'm going to tell you."

Reluctantly, Shaolin tore her eyes away from the glorious sight.

The sixteen year old glanced at the parade of people before focusing on his little sister, his cool eyes boring into hers.

"As per tradition, we of the Feng clan live to serve the Shihoin clan and you will devote yourself to her. You should be prepared to lay down your life for her, there is no greater honour than that. That is our fate and our obligation. Take pride in what you do and will do. Endure and excel and never stop improving yourself."

Shaolin nodded in understanding and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Be the sword and shield, the attacker and protector."

_The family motto…_

"And in your darkest moments, may you see the light." He finished softly.

"What?" Shaolin asked. This wasn't part of the family motto.

"Don't lose yourself." XiaoWen smiled at her sadly. "You'll understand when you get older."

She couldn't understand why he seemed so sad all of a sudden. Tugging on his sleeve, she asked as he smiled down kindly at her. "You will wait for me there, right?"

"Of course."

Those were the last words he had said to her before he left for his sixth and last mission the next day.

* * *

Shaolin handed in her service forms to the large mountain of a man who happened to be the lieutenant of the 2nd Division.

Marenoshin Omaeda scanned the paper with disinterest before glancing up at the girl. Grunting in affirmation, he stamped a large red stamp on the paper. Slowly, he stood up and stretched a hand towards her. Shaolin did the same and they shook hands.

"Welcome to the Omnitsukido, Soifon."

Soifon fought to keep grin off her face and she smoothed her facial expressions into one of indifference. She couldn't believe it. She had finally joined the Omnitsukido. She could finally train and serve the Commander.

A knock sounded from the door and both of them turned their attention towards it. "Come in," the man said loudly and the door slid open with an audible thump.

A well built man entered the room. His hair was messy and spiked upwards in different directions and he wore a sleeveless black vest, dark pants and boots and a white obi tied around his waist.

He stopped by the door and saluted at the lieutenant lazily before his eyes fell on the small figure of the girl. A grin spread across his face effortlessly and Soifon could see the mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Come with me," he said, raising a hand in greeting. "Thanks, Lieutenant Omaeda."

Soifon bowed quickly before retreating from the room and hurrying after the man, who had already strode off quickly. He had stopped at the corner, waiting for her to catch up. She stopped just in front of him.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"It's Soifon, sir. I've just joined the Executive Militia."

He resumed his walk and stopped as soon as he found her trailing behind him again. "Come on, you can walk beside me. It'll be much easier for me to brief you."

She complied nervously but another smile directed at her quelled her nerves slightly.

The man led her down a flight of stairs. "I'm Nakamura Takeshi, 6th seat of the 2nd Division." He seemed to pause for a moment before deciding that that room to his right was the one he had been looking for. He slid open the door and indicated for her to enter. "This will be your room in the barracks. This area is for the Executive Militia so feel free to wander around."

Soifon bowed in thanks. "Thank you for helping me, Nakamura-san."

Nakamura looked down for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Come on, I guess I can show you around a bit more. You got your uniform by the way?"

"Yes," Soifon replied and followed him once more.

After touring the areas for the Patrol Corps, Detention Unit and the Inner Court Troop, the two of them shunpoed to the training grounds. The training ground was a large area of sandy ground with a large patch of grassy plain leading towards the forest at the very far end.

"This is the training ground for the Executive Militia. You'll come here every day to train from 6 in the morning till late at night to train unless the Commander indicates otherwise. She won't be training you every day and the lieutenant will sometimes take over but usually I'll be in charge."

Soifon's eyes widened slightly and Nakamura laughed at her surprise. "The Commander may be the Corps head of the Executive Militia but I'm, well, I guess you could say I'm regime leader. I take training mostly." He looked out at the men training. "Get changed and report for training in 5 minutes." He flashed her a genuine smile and Soifon couldn't help but smile back. "It seems like your lucky day today. The Commander is here."

* * *

Soifon rushed over to the training grounds, dressed in her standard black uniform with a bandana over her head and a mask covering her face. Nakamura looked up as she approached. He nodded in acknowledgement but the previous mischievous attitude was now replaced by a serious professional one. Soifon could feel herself adopt the same attitude unconsciously.

"Let's see," he mused out loud, the papers crackling in his hands. "Decent zanjutsu and hakuda skills, excellent marks for shunpo and hoho and good stealth skills. Well…why don't we see how you cope with the group B over there and if you're better than expected, then you can work with group A." He indicated his head towards the group on the right.

"Yes sir!" Soifon saluted smartly.

A portion of the group was working on their hakuda footwork while another had their men pair up to train with their zanpakuto. Soifon swallowed nervously as she felt all eyes turn towards her as she drew closer. She could feel the tension and mistrust in the air and she wanted nothing more than to hide but one glance at the Commander, who was training in the far distance, and confidence flooded her once more. She had every right to be here. She had earned her place among the Executive Militia. Now all she had to do was to earn their respect.

Seeing as all of the men in the sub-group had already paired up with each other, Soifon chose to work with the hakuda group. Soon, she was working up a sweat as she concentrated on every step, every strike.

Left strike, shift to the right and back spin. A strike behind the knee before aiming a roundhouse kick to the head and finishing it off with a quick succession of hand strikes to the chest.

Soifon wiped the sweat from her face, taking loud gasps of air. She had always thought that the Feng clan's training regime was strict but this didn't even compare. She looked around her. Quite a number of the men were taking a short break while some had switched groups. One of them looked up at her and she could see the sneer on his face even behind the mask and her fists clenched together tightly as rage blinded her momentarily. He was looking down on her. Because she was a girl. Because she wasn't good enough.

She was sure that she would have punched him in the face if not for the fact that a cry of pain rang out and her head snapped towards the distraction. Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight. It was her. Her goddess.

Everything seemed to pan out in slow motion. She saw a flash of purple and suddenly, all the men surrounding her was blown away. Yet it seemed as if Yoruichi had never moved at all. It was breathtaking and Soifon found that she was rooted to the spot.

Yoruichi, almost as if sensing her gaze, turned around and her golden yellow eyes almost seemed to stare right into her, flashing with amusement. Soifon immediately looked away, a faint blush adorning her face. Yoruichi grinned to herself before waving at her training companions, effectively dismissing them.

* * *

So there was a new girl among the recruits this time, she thought to herself. That would make things more interesting. She found it boring when she was the only female in the entire division. Glancing at the girl, she noted the small stature. That might be a disadvantage when it came down to brute strength and physical fights but then again, her weight and speed would compensate for it. The girl might also be useful when it came down to stealth missions.

Yoruichi took a step forwards and appeared next to her sixth seat, unleashing a powerful kick at his head. Nakamura barely managed to block it and his grip tightened around her ankle as he swung her around. Just as he was about to throw her away, the captain twisted downwards and struck him with a well placed punch to the gut. With a groan, the man dropped onto his knees.

"You've been slacking Takeshi," Yoruichi berated her subordinate.

"Not really Captain, you're just that much better than me," Nakamura wheezed, breathless.

Yoruichi dragged him upright by the collar of his shirt and Nakamura dusted off his robes. "So, who's the new recruit? The girl I mean."

A look of understanding crossed his face. "Oh yes. That's Soifon from the Feng clan. She just started today so I put her with group B."

Yoruichi opened her mouth to ask him what Soifon's best attributes were but Nakamura beat her to it. "Shunpo."

A delighted smile made its way across her face. "Brilliant!"

The purple haired woman took one last glance at the girl. She had resumed her training and was now sparring with a man twice her height, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Yoruichi smiled as she saw that Soifon was holding her on if not pushing back her partner.

She smiled before disappearing in a flash.

_Soifon…I'll be paying close attention to you…_

* * *

_Well, this is my first attempt at YoruSoi and a non-het pairing. I will keep Yoruichi and Soifon's relationship similar to the extent shown in the manga, so basically admiration, obsession and all that but no outright lemons._

_I know that it should be either Sui Feng / Feng clan or Soifon / Fon clan but I wanted to stick with Feng clan with Soifon because Soifon is just easier to type and the Japanese VAs pronounce it that way. _

_I will be updating really slowly due to lack of time and because I'm a really slow writer. This story is basically about Soifon's rise to the top from day 1 to Yoruichi's return. I'll spend a few chapters on her life before becoming Yoruichi's bodyguard, then a few chapters on her bodyguard life before entering the main bit which is the lost 101 years when Yoruichi went into exile. So yeah, bear with me :)_


End file.
